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The Ninety Mile Beach Lion Red Snapper Classic Event of New Zealand is one of its kind. This fishing and angling competition has been held for about 25 years now with participants from around the globe enthusiastically vying for the huge prizes involved. Popularly known as "The Snapper Classic", this event has brought New Zealand's Northland Island international limelight. The magnitude of the event can be understood by the very fact that it brings in revenue worth almost 6 million dollars into the local economy every year. Predictably, the stakes at the Ninety Mile Beach Lion Red Snapper Classic Event are high too. The winner of this premier surfcasting competition takes home almost $50 000 worth of prizes and the total stash that may be claimed by the participants reaches an astronomical $250,000. In 2006, the $50,000 prize was bagged by Daryl Willis from Stratford who caught a 4.272kg snapper, the heaviest in the event. The heaviest individual snappers enter the Liquor King teams event where competitions are held on the basis of team hauls for the 5 days. Anglers and fishermen and women from around the world descend here every year to try their shots at the Ninety Mile Beach Lion Red Snapper Classic Event. A number of tight security measures are undertaken to ensure fair play and only snappers which measure 35 cm or more are taken in for the weighing. Scheduled to be held on the 90 Mile Beach of Waipapakauri Ramp, West of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand from the 13th February 2007 to 17th February 2007 this year, the competition is expected to have an audience of about 1000. A fee is charged for entering the competition and individual and team events are organized here. Initially held in 1982, the Ninety Mile Beach Lion Red Snapper Classic Event has gained immense popularity in the current years.
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